Thursday, July 24, 2014

A good thing

I was a first generation 4-H’er.

My parents grew up in the north-end of working-town St.
Joseph, Missouri. My dad was a
jock. He played competitive sports
year-round, and spent his free time rounding up the neighborhood boys for a few
innings on the sandlot. Weekends were
spent on his grandparent’s farm in Kansas.
4-H simply wasn’t on his radar.

My mom, eager to escape a childhood riddled with painful
memories, found security and stability in my dad. She wanted her own family, her own home. She wanted her turn at building a lifetime of
happy memories. 4-H wasn’t on her radar,
either.

They married at 19.
My dad finished up college, wrapped up a college sports career, and five
short years later, bought a farm and moved his wife and three – soon to be four
– babes to an 80 acre paradise in northeast Kansas.

4-H was suddenly on their radar. A wholesome, fun, family-oriented experience
perfect for a new-to-the-farm family.

I joined the Circle B 4-H Club. We bought a pen full of market hogs and
picked up a Hereford bucket calf at the Atchison Sale Barn. I sewed a calico-print skirt with help from
my Grandma, and made cookies and a craft project with my momma.

The summer of 1988 marked our first Doniphan County
Fair.

This summer, while standing in the barn of the Ellsworth
County Fair – looking over Noah and Tucker’s bucket calves – my Dad reminded me
of why 4-H was just the right fit for our family.

On a sweltering evening at the market hog show, late July
1988, the competition was heating up in the swine showmanship class. At eight-years-old, I was oblivious to it
all, trying to keep track of a fast-moving hog and wiping the sweat from my
brow with a bristle brush intended for my pig.
(Actually, I think my brother did that, but it adds a nice touch, doesn’t
it?) The oldest daughter of a more-seasoned
4-H family and member of our club, was a show-woman to be reckoned with. She was in the running for Grand Champion,
but when the judge passed her up and gave the nod to another showman, her mom
threw a camera across the bleachers in disgust at the judge’s decision.

While the crowd looked on in disbelief, my dad stood under
the eaves of the hog barn, smiled and thought to himself, “This 4-H thing is gonna
be good.”

We went on to enjoy about 15 more summers of wholesome, fun,
family-oriented county fairs. And 15
summers of heated competition in the show ring.
There are boxes of trophies and ribbons filling closets at my parent’s
house. And enough wonderful memories and
treasured friendships for us to cherish forever.

The Circle B 4-H club boasted 40-plus members at its peak in
the mid 90’s. We had solid exhibitors
and competitors in nearly every project.
We vied for the herdsmanship award every summer under the watchful eye
of our club leaders. By the time my
youngest sister, Molly, was in high school, there just weren’t enough kids left
to keep the club going. Last fall – ten years
later – my brother, and a number of the kids who were a part of the better days
of Circle B, reinstated the club.

Our kids are now 4th generation Kansas 4-H’ers; thanks
to a long 4-H legacy in the Goss and Dechant families participating in the Finney
County 4-H Fair. As members of the
Elkhorn 4-H Club – they're part of a group of hard-working, no frills kids who can have as much
fun at a big city water park as they can in a barn. And a group of kids who pay attention to the
youngest among them – this momma of young un’s loves that.

This 4-H thing is good for our family for reasons no
different than the reasons my dad discovered many summers ago in that hog
barn. It brings our family together through
meaningful work. It allows our children
to channel their interests and passions. It provides opportunities to lead; and to work
as a team. And it puts our children into
a nurturing, yet competitive, environment.
Because after all, the world doesn’t give everyone a ribbon for just
showing up.

I sometimes wonder if we’ve pushed our family into a 4-H and
farm lifestyle because that’s where Brent and I are most comfortable. But when I see Noah blossoming in the show
ring, Tucker tackling chores with a very grown-up sense of responsibility, Nell
whispering to the chickens, and Britta hungry to just keep up with her siblings,
my mind rests. The Goss and 4-H just go together.

1 comment:

Girls and guys often sacrifice their lives and career for their family. Your dad did the same, he left everything just to brought you guys up. We should respect our parents as they do sacrifice so much for the sake of us